T 0005/81 (Production of hollow thermoplastic objects) of 04.03.1982

Under Article 97 (1) EPC, a European patent application which fails to meet one of the requirements of the Convention has to be refused in its entirety, without it being necessary to consider whether the application as a whole might contain material indicative of an inventive step. An alleged violation affecting a part of the decision other than its ratio decidendi cannot be a substantial violation within the meaning of Rule 67. An appeal may relate only to a decision subject to appeal within the meaning of Article 106 (1) and not to the preparatory measures referred to in Article 96 (2) and Rule 51 (3). A comparison of the problem indicated in the application with that indicated in a prior document must avoid an excessively abstract approach far removed from the practical thinking of the person skilled in the art. The teaching of a document may have narrower implications for a person skilled in the art and broader implications for a potential inventor who first perceives the problem which his future invention is intended to solve. The assessment of inventive step must look at the situation solely from the practical viewpoint of the person skilled in the art.